Product Versions

FDTD Solutions 8.20
MODE Solutions 7.12
DEVICE 7.2
INTERCONNECT 8.0

New Features

Shared New Features

Script properties autocomplete

• In recent releases, we introduced autocomplete capabilities for script commands. Today, we extend this capability to better support scripted modelling. All scripting environments now display autocomplete options when using commands – such as get/set/select – which take model object names or object properties as arguments.

Scriptable computing resources settings

• Many design groups enjoy access to on-site clusters of computing resources, which are often shared within an organization using custom schedulers. To support better resource usage, our resource manager is now fully scriptable using both Lumerical script or through our Python Interoperability API. Users can programmatically add and remove computing resources and set resource parameters such as the number of processes and threads.

  Relevant commands: addresource, deleteresource, getresource, setresource 1

MODE Solutions

Fast broadband EME feature

• We added a wavelength sweep feature to EME 5 that allows users to calculate the S-matrix as a function of wavelength using a perturbative method. While the method is approximate, it gives good agreement with full broadband simulation for many applications such as MMIs, Fiber Bragg Gratings and Waveguide Bragg Gratings (see here 1 for comparison). Because it can be orders of magnitude faster than a full broadband simulation, it provides opportunities for rapid device optimization.

DEVICE

New Solvers

Finite Element Eigenmode Solver (FEEM)

• With this brand new finite element eigenmode solver, we continue our expansion of DEVICE to support designers of complex multi-physics integrated photonics components. Beginning with the 2018b release of DEVICE, engineers working on integrated electro-optic and thermal modulators can enjoy access to the full modelling flow – including charge transport, heat transport and electromagnetic eigenmode simulations – under a single IDE and, most importantly, a single physical model. The finite element mesh gives designers an extra degree of freedom to control simulation performance and accuracy by adjusting the polynomial mesh order, and greatly improves performance for curved geometries like graded index fibers (GRIN) and photonic crystal fibers.

• You can find FEEM in DEVICE within the Design tab, under Solvers: 

  Related pages:
  FEEM solver page 1
  FEEM application example - SOI Waveguide 1
  FEEM application example - Step index fiber
  FEEM application example - Mach-Zehnder modulator
  FEEM application example - Graded index fiber

Modeling and Solver Objects

Spatially-varying Index Materials

• The new FEEM solver offers a convenient way to model index perturbations generated by electrical or thermal phenomena. The (n,k) Material attribute allows users to import index perturbations from external Matlab (.mat) files, or from datasets contained in DEVICE’s scripting environment. Users can choose whether the imported data overwrites or modifies the underlying material properties, and leverage DEVICE’s partitioned domains to precisely control which materials or regions will be affected by the perturbation. Combined with FEEM and CHARGE, this feature makes modeling of integrated modulators easier than ever.

  Related pages:
  Import (n,k) material
  Graded index fiber

Mask-defined implant doping

• The new implant doping solver object allows users to define doping profiles by simulated ion implantation. Users can define a polygonal implant mask and customize process parameters such as dopant concentration, implant angle, range, straggle, and lateral scatter. The model accounts for material and shadowing effects and conforms to non-planar geometries.

  Related pages:
  Implant doping 1

Scripting and Automation

Scriptable material properties

• Starting with the 2018b release of DEVICE, it is now possible to use scripting commands to set more than 500 material properties in our electrical, thermal and optical material models, using the standard

• get/set commands. This is particularly useful for designers calibrating their material models to measured data or investigating the effect of different physical phenomena on the performance of their devices.

  Related pages:
  Handling materials using scripts

Properties autocomplete.

• In recent releases, we introduced autocomplete capabilities for script commands. Today, we extend this capability to better support scripted modelling. All scripting environments now display autocomplete options when using commands – such as get/set/select – which take model object names or object properties as arguments. Sweeps and optimizations windows have also been improved to support the vast range of settable parameters in DEVICE with autodetection of required datatypes for all settable properties. Users are free to focus on their device design and leave the details of remembering property names to DEVICE.

INTERCONNECT

Linear Electrical Circuit Solver

• The new linear electrical circuit solver allows for the native design and simulation of circuits with resistors, capacitors and inductors as well as differential amplifiers, voltage and current sources, user defined electrical s-parameters (Touchstone file), scripted elements and much more. The new element library combined with the embedded automatic digital filter fitting enables evaluating effects of impedance mismatch on electrical signal integrity in time and frequency domains. In combination with the existing primitive electrical elements and the EPDA co-simulation capabilities, INTERCONNECT allows for efficient modelling of arbitrary complex passive and active linear and nonlinear electrical circuits.

Enhanced EPDA co-simulation flow

New features were included to facilitate the co-simulation between the INTERCONNECT engine and third-party schematic editors:

• The new RESULTDIR SPICE statement allows defining the location of output result files to support parametric sweeps.

• The INTERCONNECT initialization file now supports shell variables for defining the location of process design kits and compact model libraries.

• When running INTERCONNECT as an engine, additional options to hide or show the INTERCONNECT schematic during co-simulation are now available.

Improved Simulation and Design Environment

• Schematic editor and property system enhancements allow for a better user experience when parsing and interacting with complex photonic integrated circuits. In addition to the existing backwards compatibility support, a new file format assures forward compatibility on major versions, the new format also speeds up the process of loading and parsing circuits with thousands of elements.

Additions to the Element Library

• Resistor, Capacitor and Inductor elements allow creating different types of parallel and serial passive circuits, such as RLC filters. The Ammeter and Voltmeter elements enable the measuring of current and voltage at any node of the circuit. INTERCONNECT electrical signals can be converted to current or voltage signals by using the Current and Voltage source elements, respectively. The Voltage Reference Port element allows bidirectional simulation with INTERCONNECT electrical signals, including impedance mismatch effects. The Differential Amplifier element (which is a fundamental building block of analog design in general) is also available in the new electrical linear element library.

• The Nonlinear Waveguide element enables the simulation of dynamic nonlinear optical effects in different types of photonic integrated circuits, including coupled ring resonators. The model includes thermal and free carrier induced nonlinear effects.

• The new Optical Nonlinear S-Parameters element allows the simulation of measured saturable absorbers, where the frequency dependent complex transmission depends on time variant optical and electrical signal inputs.

• To facilitate the design and simulation of optical transceivers and signal equalizers, the new Automatic Gain Control and Signal Aligner elements offer automatic time alignment and amplitude adjustment of electrical signals before reaching the receiver and equalization stages.

• The new Traveling Wave Optical Modulator allows the realistic design and simulation of travelling wave devices. It is a bidirectional element that supports electrical connectors and transmission lines, and their corresponding perturbation effect on the waveguide complex effective index. A new Electrical Connector element simulates the effect of impedance mismatch and electrical reflections.

Enhanced Element Library

• The Compound Element now includes an embedded scattering data analysis solver for optical and electrical circuits. The embedded solver calculates the s-parameter of its internal circuit and, before the simulation starts, replaces the compound internal circuit with its equivalent s-parameter. In time-domain, the s-parameter is also calculated, and an equivalent digital filter is automatically generated. The input signal bandwidth is used to calculate the frequency range and the frequency spacing for the calculated s-parameters automatically.

• The Lookup Table element was extended to support multiport electrical lookup tables, allowing for mapping multiple input values to a given output value. It facilitates the design of new elements that require a mapping between different input and output quantities.

• The Decision Feedback Equalizer element now includes the feedforward and feedback filter coefficient values, providing a mechanism to evaluate the effect of the equalizer settings on the filter convergence.

• Users can now define the maximum number of FIR coefficients when using the automatic filter fitting option.

  New and Enhanced Script Commands
  convertnportsparametersweep, parsebackannotation, parsewaveguidebackannotation, readnportsparameterat, setpsfoutput

Bug Fixes

FDTD Solutions - Version S2018B-R1 (8.20.1634)

Design Environment

• Fixed issue of visualizer to maintain title and label when changing the legend
• FDTD “waveguide” structure now can be saved for settings with small radius
• Near field sampling rate settings are now saved
• Fixed issue of source “beam” properties to be number instead of strings after editing “model”
• Copy and paste sweep object works properly now
• Fixed issue of shifting focus to job manager when running a simulation
• Resources configuration Local Computer option now have a fixed choice of FDTD engine executable
• Updated the in-product search link
• Fixed issue of closing sweep parameter selection window on every expand action in Mac

Deployment and Licensing

• Modified the error messages when MPI is not installed

Simulation and Numeric

• Using mode source with symmetry now correctly unfolds structure
• FDTD port offset is applied with theta value of zero
• Offset in time vector of source pulse is fixed now

Script Environment and Interop

• Fixed issue of resetting the already defined values when changing “number of points” in sweep using script
• Poynting vector data in attribute from P dataset of monitor are properly calculated
• farfieldsettings command now works for all settings

Resource Configuration

• MPICH now uses multiple ports to run multiple simulations
• Fixed failing jobs in large parameter sweeps
• Memory requirement report is properly estimated now

User Interface and Visualizaton

• Near field sampling rate settings are saved now
• Export figure to MATLAB now works for MATLAB 2017a version

MODE - Version S2018B-R1 (7.12.1634)

Design Environment

• Fixed graphics problems in modal analysis tab plots
• Fixed MODE crash when clearings setting without selecting any cell group row in EME setup

Simulation and Numeric

• Additional cell groups now inherit number of modes setting in EME

Script Environment and Interop

• Additional cell groups now inherit number of modes setting in EME
• addtogroup script command can move object to model now
• Fixed failing of updateportmodes to update the mode when modal analysis settings are modified
• Fixed EME crash when setting advanced settings with setemeanalysis command

DEVICE - Version S2018B-R1 (7.2.1634)

Design Environment

• Materials referenced in construction groups are now copied
• Option to enable mesh-lock is now disabled when no mesh (grid dataset) is present
• Fixed issue with placing the solver at the bottom of the model tree when loading files
• The restart option in job manager now works for all cases
• The parameter for the high injection model in Auger recombination does not resets now after simulation or file reload
• Now object are selectable after changing property notification
• Fixed issue with failing Import doping when coordinates are ordered from larger to smaller
• Fixed issue of UI crash when trying to add invalid polygon
• Editors for monitors are now useable on high-res screens
• GDS import and layer builder now work with patterns containing holes
• Domains and surfaces in the partitioned volume mode now are not available as sweep parameters
• Fixed issue of DEVICE model building script crashes
• Fixed issue of setview command to change view angle
• Fixed issue of solver crash when attempting to save a project file containing an unlicensed solver
• Fixed issue of DEVICE engine crash when a temperature monitor is present in isothermal simulation

Deployment and Licensing

• Fixed issue with DEVICE error for 3D power flux monitors
• Fixed issue with “getresult” command
• Option to enable mesh-lock is now disabled when no mesh (grid dataset) is present
• Fixed issue of solver crash when attempting to save a project file containing an unlicensed solver

Simulation and Numerics

• Fixed issue with DEVICE error for 3D power flux monitors
• Fixed issue of Low CPU usage on 96 core computer - DGTD
• The “thermal switch” example file from KB is updated now
• Fixed issue of current conservation at contacts in CHARGE solver
• Fixed issue of merging geometries in DGTD simulation
• Fixed issue of failing transient charge solver to reduce the time step
• The “pulse off” option for global source shutter in HEAT does now works
• Transient simulation results are same between different versions of products

Script Environment and Interop

• Fixed issue of MATLAB API not working with DEVICE on OSX
• Fixed issue of GDS auto export returning cell array size zero
• Fixed issue of executing a code via evalremote
• Materials are now assigned to geometry objects using setup script in model structure group
• Fixed issue DEVICE crash with model building script
• Fixed crash of adding DGTD and HEAT solver objects inside a construction group
• Fixed crash of adding a group inside a construction group

INTERCONNECT - Version S2018B-R1 (8.0.1634)

Design Environment

• Fixed crashing issue of running sweep with undefined result
• Fixed issue of netlist import fails to set property
• Fixed issue of some CAD windows not hidden in hide mode
• Fixed issue of Group delay set with “setsparameter” command
• Fixed crashing issue of INTERCONNECT when removing a connected port
• Eye diagram element now calculates the signal rise/fall time only based on 1.75 bit period
• Fixed issue of IC taking long time to open a .icp file

Compact Model Library

• The setup script of a scripted element now is deleted automatically when the element is dragged in the GUI from an installed library in Design Kits

Simulation and Numeric

• Fixed issue of IIR filter does not work in Linux for some s-parameter data
• Fixed issue of “initialize filter taps” option not working properly in time variant s-parameter element
• Fixed issue of INTERCONNECT slow down on simulation
• Fixed issue of “.omonitor” connects to wrong component when same components present at different hierarchy
• INTERCONNECT command line now allows dot character “.”

Script Environment and Interop

• “legend” command now works in non-graphical mode
• Unified “createcompound” command behaviour in script prompt and script file editor
• Unified PIC_PUSH error codes in showing/hiding UI

User Interface and Visualizaton

• Fixed crashing issue of visualizing correlation matrix
• Fixed crashing issue of visualizing Monte Carlo results when parameter or model not correctly defined